SRINAGAR, 31 August 2003 — One of India’s most wanted terrorists, who allegedly masterminded an audacious attack on Parliament triggering a near war with Pakistan, was killed in a fierce gunbattle in Jammu and Kashmir yesterday.

Ghazi Baba, a shadowy figure who was considered the commander-in-chief in India of the Pakistan-supported Jaish-e-Mohammed group, was one of two militants shot dead in a 10-hour battle with security forces in the heart of Srinagar.

The battle also claimed the life of a Border Security Force (BSF) trooper and injured more than half a dozen soldiers.

Jammu and Kashmir Chief Minister Mufti Mohammed Sayeed, addressing businessmen in Calcutta, could not hide his glee and termed Baba’s killing a major blow to the separatist insurgency in the Himalayan state that has claimed 40,000 lives since 1989.

True to his reputation, Ghazi Baba caused mayhem in this summer capital as he held at bay hundreds of police and paramilitary personnel in the Dana Mazzar area of downtown Srinagar for hours.

The fighting began well before dawn when a group of BSF soldiers stealthily approached a three-story house in the densely populated neighborhood, apparently after being tipped off about the presence of a group of militants in a house overlooking narrow lanes.

As the BSF men tried to enter the house, gunmen holed up inside opened fire and threw grenades, stunning the security personnel.

As a couple of BSF troopers ran up a flight of stairs and got trapped on the third floor, the militants began firing at the security forces from the first and second floors.

The trapped BSF men eventually escaped by jumping from the second floor when their colleagues created a diversion by firing away their weapons.

As the battle continued even after reinforcements were sent, officials realized that the men hiding inside must have stacked up a large quantity of arms and ammunition.

According to intelligence intercepts, at least one of the militants was none other than Ghazi Baba, the man linked to the terrorist attack on the Indian Parliament in December 2001 for which India blamed Pakistan.

The battle ended after security forces fired mortars and detonated explosives to bring down the house.

The battle over, police commandos displayed the body of the man, dressed in a blue shirt and black trousers. He was barefoot and clean-shaven. Previously he had sported a beard. The identity of the other dead militant was not known.

Inspector General of Jammu and Kashmir Police K. Rajendra Kumar and BSF’s Deputy Inspector General K. Srinivasan announced the end of the fighting during which much of Srinagar remained tense, many keeping their fingers crossed.

Even while the fighting was under way, security forces evacuated several civilians from the building.

The fighting came a day after Indian Prime Minister Atal Behari Vajpayee ruled out talks with Pakistan until there was an end to rebel violence, which New Delhi blames on Pakistan-based Kashmiri separatists.

There has been a spate of guerrilla attacks in Indian Kashmir this week, coinciding with a visit to the region by Vajpayee, his deputy L.K. Advani, and several chief ministers. The prime minister’s visit ended Friday. — Additional input from Reuters